West Richland, WA (July 18, 2008) Shrouded in mystery and secrecy, SSC (www.shelbysupercars.com) has announced plans to unveil the next historical milestone, codenamed - the Ultimate Aero EV (Electric Vehicle), the first 100% Green Supercar to achieve speeds never before seen. Engineering details are yet undisclosed while development continues at an uninterrupted pace. Despite months of speculation, SSC expects to roll out its first prototype in February 2009. "I think we can do it faster, leaner and cleaner than any other manufacturer," says Jerod Shelby, SSC Founder. Unlike other manufacturers' models slated for delivery in the next decade, Shelby's latest brainchild expects to be delivered as early as fourth quarter 2009. Other automakers have sacrificed aesthetics and performance in exchange for hybrid power plants, but the Ultimate Aero EV will deliver a pollution-free, engineering marvel with an exotic Supercar exterior. The drive train under development will feature a revolutionary power source allowing for extended time between charging intervals with the possibility of several years between charging. Powered by a 500 horsepower electric motor, the Ultimate Aero EV will have true supercar performance. All 500 horses will be put to use via SSC's 6-speed manual transmission and triple disc carbon/carbon Tilton clutch. Additionally, SSC is exploring the potential of a twin 500 horsepower electric power plant producing 1,000 horsepower in a 2 or 4 wheel drive configuration. Having already broken the record for the "Fastest Production Car" SSC will soon break the engineering challenge of our time. Says Jay Leno of SSC's first accomplishment, "The coolest thing about this car is they said they were going to do something and then they did it." While other manufacturers scramble to capture the Green hysteria of late, SSC will leap over the barrier with a fraction of the Big Three's budget. To that end, the company recently contracted with Investor Relations Group, Sheffield International Finance Corporation initiating the Company's first acceptance of outside capital since its inception. In a press release dated July 11, 2008, the American automaker announced that much of the private capital will be dedicated to achieve the historical milestone. The invitation-based offering includes an A-list of invitees including celebrities and notable financiers from around the world. Consistent with its company philosophy of being the benchmark, SSC plans next to break the record for the fastest electric car in the world. Stay tuned...

SSC claims they're working on a revolutionary power source that allows for up to several years between charging. We're assuming that they mean several years of actual use, and not just sitting around. Because, you know, we can put some fuel stabilizer in our car, park it, and not have to fill up for a while too. So, is this vaporware or soon-to-be-reality?

Jalopnik Snap Judgement: Everyone thought SSC was full of crap when the company announced they made the fastest car in the world, but it turns out they actually did. So maybe they really do have some tricks up their sleeve. We'll know more when the first prototypes roll out in February 2009. [Shelby SuperCars]

[Jay Leno's Garage]

Suzuki Sustainable mobility (PIXY + SSC)

Low-speed portable tool "PIXY ([pikushi])" of one person riding, uniting with this tool, it depends on automobile which makes movement as an automobile possible, is based on the sharing system type portable unit "SSC (s s sea)" lightly, it is easy to the person, concept of the new vehicle, " SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY ([sasuteinaburumobiritei]) "is proposed. In 2007 May from the economic industrial ministry it was announced it is put out with the "next generation automobile fuel initiative", it is the portable tool which produces the new city traffic where to also "the greatest in the world it paralleled easy car social" conception, possibility of new personal mobility and the sharing system is proposed.

PIXY
Worldwide first exhibition

"At the sidewalk and at the interior, the mobility which is easy to the person who makes the coexistence with the person possible " was designated as concept, the low-speed portable tool of one person riding. Be able to operate everyone easily, not only the person who rides the car due to the cooperation with the portable unit "of SSC" and so on, the joy the vehicle bringing to all people is offered.

SSC (Suzuki sharing coach)
Worldwide first exhibition

Low-speed portable tool "PIXY" of one person riding boards, unites & connects and as an automobile possible is light portable unit of automobile which makes movement type. Joint usage (sharing) the portable unit which is done automobile which 2 can place "PIXY" unit "SSC" not only lightly, sport car unit "SSF" and boat unit "SSJ" and so on, in combination with to the scene of life, possibility of new personal mobility and the sharing system which various units are used properly is proposed.

WEST RICHLAND, WA (SEPT 13, 2007) - Shelby Supercars (SSC), manufacturer of the ultra high-performance Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo, set the new "World's Fastest Production Car" record earlier today with an average top speed of 255.83 mph. Confident of the 1183 hp vehicle's abilities, SSC set out to validate their top speed claim in accordance with the strict guidelines set by Guinness World Records. Among other requirements, in order to meet Guinness' approval, a vehicle testing for the top speed record must race down the course, turn around, and make a second pass in the opposite direction within one hour.

The vehicle's "top speed" is calculated by averaging the top speeds of each pass in order to negate any favorable road or weather conditions. Today, on a temporarily-closed 2 lane stretch of public highway in Washington State, the Ultimate Aero posted a top speed of 257.11 mph (413.83 kph) on its first pass and 254.55 mph (409.71 kph) on its return pass to set the new top speed record at a staggering 255.83 mph (411.76 kph). The data, collected by Dewetron's world-renowned GPS tracking system, and other checks will be verified by Guinness before the Ultimate Aero is officially crowned the "World's Fastest Production Car." This breaks the current official record held by the Koenigsegg CCR at 242 mph by 11.83 mph and the Bugatti Veyron's unofficial speed of 253 mph by 3.11 mph.

According to Mr. Khan, they'll be submitting the full monty of test results and whatnot to Guinness on Monday. And some video to us around the same time. Pa-zam!!

From the man with the very best name on planet earth, Junus Khan, "SSC is launching its 250 MPH Club which offers a variety of insider information. One lucky member from the 250 MPH Club will be selected at random to be flown in to SSC for a day of driving and spending time with Jerod Shelby, the owner of SSC." Good luck to you, dear reader: http://www.shelbysupercars.com/

Press Release:

SSC Ultimate Aero TT Charging

Towards 'World Fastest Production Car' Record

WEST RICHLAND, WA (1 Aug 2007) - Shelby SuperCars (SSC), manufacturer of the world's most powerful production car, the Ultimate Aero TT, announced today that speed testing for the title "World's Fastest Production Car" will be finalized by the end of August. Speed testing is being conducted in the company's home state of Washington and is being validated by Guinness World Records.

There is a standard procedure outlined by Guinness World Records to validate a land speed record. The vehicle must drive the predetermined course, turn around, and drive back the opposite way within one hour. This is to negate any discrepancy there may be in the course or conditions. Top speeds from each run are then averaged to obtain the official speed. This method has been used for decades as the benchmark for land speed record attempts.

Dewetron, a company known for performance testing of missile, train, aerospace, and automotive capabilities will accurately monitor and measure the speed of the Ultimate Aero TT for the record run. Dewetron's equipment is precise that Guinness World Records approved their systems as a replacement for the standard 1,000m laser traps. Dewetron utilizes 4-12 satellites and numerous onboard sensors to track a vehicle's speed.

The lack of access to a US-based proving ground able to accommodate the Ultimate Aero TT's top speed presented SSC with a massive challenge. After scouring the country for months, SSC found the solution in their home state of Washington when they were granted the opportunity to close public highways for testing. Finding appropriate roads eligible for closure proved to be a tedious process as SSC's teams scouted the sites first hand. After a potential site was identified, the company would need to apply for a road closure permit. Hiring police, a crew to man the closed section, and securing insurance for the high-speed test sessions were just a few of the undertakings necessary to be granted the rare closure of public roads.

Since the first test session, SSC has successfully concluded several rounds of high-speed safety and durability testing for each assembly of the Ultimate Aero TT. During these sessions, SSC was able to verify all the engineering specifications as well as aerodynamic data posted at NASA's Langley wind tunnel. Throughout the test sessions, the measured top speed of the Ultimate Aero TT continued to rise, achieving a speed of 241.4 mph at a throttle position of only 71% during the latest transmission durability test. After reviewing all test data, Jerod Shelby and the SSC engineering team feel comfortable in maximizing the capabilities of the 1183 hp Ultimate Aero TT.

For more information on SSC and the upcoming test session visit their new site at www.sscautos.com or contact Motorcars of Las Vegas, the exclusive US dealer for SSC vehicles (www.MotorCarsLV.com).

The Bugatti Veyron is faster than the fastest racecar ever built. At top speed its tires – which cost more than your car – die after 12 minutes. SSC's Ultimate Aero TT can probably go faster still. Ferrari is hard at work on the Enzo replacement. The Enzo could go 217 mph. In the meantime, the FXX sports 850 hp and changes gears exactly as fast as an F1 car. Both Cadillac and Jaguar will soon be unleashing 500+ hp mid-size sedans. The new Audi RS 6 will most likely sport a twin-turbo V10. My $25K station wagon is as fast as the sports cars from the 80s and no doubt handles better. The above pic is Lolo Ferrari, a stripper/porn star/singer who chewed through surgeons before finally achieving a 71" bust. Then she killed herself. Sigmund Freud said, "The goal of all life is death." Where are we going? And why are we getting there so fast? – Jonny Lieberman

[The Jalopnik Question of the Day usually runs every day. Though it probably won't this weekend. Do you have a question you want answered? Email it to tips@jalopnik.com with the subject line "QOTD"]

How Do You Say You're Sorry At 85 MPH?; The Jalopnik Question of the Day [Internal]

So many questions. OK, as you probably know, SSC and their Ultimate Aero TT are on a hero's quest to break and thereby set the production car top speed record currently in the hands of the hated Swedes. On March 22 of this year they gave it a go, but because of a jealous Odin snow in Nevada, were only able to hit 230 mph. So, they tried again on May 22. No luck this time out either. Nope, last Tuesday they fell 0.6 mph short. Meaning that the TT did manage to achieve 241.4 mph at "71% throttle." However, according to SSC they weren't actually going for the record. Rather, they were sussing out the transmission cooling system. Which, apparently, works. So here's our questions. First, if this is truly a production car, why didn't they test the transmission on say March 23? Why the Space Shuttle launch like gap between tests? Second...

...SSC claims to be an American car company. If so, what's with the "71% throttle" position? That's more German than a Hasselhoff poster above a bed. Third, come on. They were going for the record. Why fib and say they were just testing? 72% throttle would have blown the thing up? And finally, according to our very poor algebraic skills, 100% throttle would mean... 339 mph? In a vacuum, we know, we know.Whatever the case, look for the Ultimate Aero to break both the Koenigsegg's viking official record of 242 mph and the Veyron's unofficial run of 253 mph with its thrice insane 1,183 hp supercharged V8. SSC's Junus Khan (is that the single greatest name in the world or what?) is claiming they'll be doing so in the very near future. We'll see you in back here in late July. – Jonny Lieberman

Related:
Snow Day: SSC Ultimate Aero TT Not As Ugly As We Thought [Internal]

Here's a picture of the actual Ultimate Aero TT that attempted to break the Veyron's "production car" top speed record but "only" achieved 230mph due to snow and bad roads in Nevada. Which is weird, because if you drive from Los Angeles to Vegas on Interstate 15 – which we may have done once or twice – you notice that on the California side it is a pitted, pot-holed two-lane mess but that the second you cross into bat country Nevada, gambling revenues convert the I-15 into the most perfectly paved, 4-lane mega-highway in all the desert. And it's 115 degrees. Oh, the car. Decked out in carbon-fiber-gray and black the Aero TT looks, dare I say, pretty good. A hell of a lot better than the blue and white iteration that the Postfather so wisely dubbed "dated." No, this car is a very modern pastiche of Murcielago, Zonda, S7 and Koenigseggeggeggeggeggegg with a little bit of Veyron up front for flavor. Full press release once you jump. – Jonny Lieberman

Press release:

American supercar company SSC successfully concluded the first round of high-speed testing on Thursday, March 22nd in its quest to break the world production speed record. Despite encountering some unforeseen obstacles, the Ultimate Aero TT ended the session with a 230mph pass at just 56% throttle in 6th gear.

SSC was forced to move to an alternate location after the original 12 mile high-speed testing site was hit by an unanticipated snowstorm. An inspection of an alternate site, located 30 miles north at a lower elevation, revealed that just 2 of the 9 miles set aside by the Nevada Department of Transportation were usable. Dips, cracks, and an exaggerated road crown on the 2 lane highway rendered the other 7 miles unsuitable for high speeds.

The testing session confirmed the stability that the Ultimate Aero TT demonstrated at NASA's Langely wind tunnel, which had previously shown the car stable up to speeds of 273 mph. During Thursday's session, test equipment verified that front to rear downforce percentages and drag coefficients were well within the engineering specifications set by the figures posted at Langely.

SSC made successive 220 mph passes throughout the day and culminated with a 230 mph run just before the 2pm road closure deadline. A laser speed trap positioned 440ft before the 2 mile marker confirmed the speeds. SSC test driver Rick Doria stated that the 1183 hp Ultimate Aero TT had "a lot more to go" at 230 mph and was confident that the remaining power and proper road conditions would propel the car past the Bugatti Veyron's 253 mph top speed record.

The crew spent the remainder of the afternoon scouting potential sites for the next round of testing. Though SSC hopes to run the second session within the next 2 weeks, their participation at Top Marques Monaco may delay the second test until after the event.

Updates and additional information are available on SSC's website, www.sscautos.com.

Related:
Back to the Wind Tunnel: SSC Falls Short of Speed Record; More: Thrust! SSC to Go After Production Car Speed Record; More: Future Classic Top Gear: Captain Slow Goes 407.4 Kilometers Per Hour! [Internal]

Blame it on the weather. American supercar builder SSC fell 23 mph short of breaking the prouction-car speed record yesterday. The company's 1183-hp Ultimate Aero TT was clocked at 230 mph on a closed stretch of Nevada highway. The snafu was snow (damn you Nevada microclimates), which added a hint of treachery from mother nature. Driver Rick Doria made two passes, the first at 221 mph and on the second he said the off-the-mark reading came via 50% throttle. Expect another attempt within three months' time. – Mike Spinelli

US supercar misses Veyron's record [Autocar]

Related:
Thrust! SSC to Go After Production Car Speed Record [internal]

Could the Bugatti Veyron be satisfied with a downgrade to second fastest production car? That's the goal of SSC, builder of dated-looking but nonetheless mad supercars like the Ultimate Aero TT. The company plans to break the 253-mph record on a 12 mile stretch of Nevada's Highway 93. It's doing it with help from MKM racing and the car's own 1,183 hp and 1,094 ft-lbs of torque from a proprietary twin-turbo V8. The company boasts that wind tunnel testing at NASA's Langley, Virginia facility revealed a coefficient of d drag of just .357 and indicated a theoretical top speed for the 2,750 lb Ultimate Aero TT of 273 mph. Whether that's possible in a non-controlled environment remains to be seen on March 21. Stock up on 1200-speed film, kids. This might be a toughie. – Mike Spinelli

[via Rideroom]

Related:
SSC Ultimate Aero TT Steals Ford Focus Headlights, Hearts; Forbes Ranks America's Fastest Cars; Supercar for the Big-and-Tall Set: The SSC Aero SC/8T [internal]

Bugatti Veyron, you're dead to me; 1001 supposed horsepower? 923 lb-ft of torque? Hobo numbers. Witness the SSC Ultimate Aero TT. Know it, love it, laugh at its Focus SVT headlights, but quiver in fear of its 387 cubic inch, twin-turbocharged joy-production unit. Why? How about 1,081 hp, 961 lb-ft of torque, and a ludicrous theoretical top speed of 273.75 mph. Forbes thought well enough to put it at the top of the 10 fastest American cars list because, um, it's wicked fast. Recently, SSC dropped a whole slew of new multimedia on its website, and it's giving me a warm, fuzzy feeling, like a puppy and a kitten napping in a Santa hat next to a koala cub. Dyno-run videos will do that. – Ben Wojdyla

SSC Autos

Related:
Supercar for the Big-and-Tall Set: The SSC Aero SC/8T; Forbes Ranks America's Fastest Cars [Internal]

The Forbeses rock out with an overview of the most expensive cars in the world. Interestingly enough, less than half of the list is taken up by major manufacturers, and Lambo, Ferrari, Rolls and Bentley are conspicuously absent. Also, two American cars made the list: the SSC Ultimate Aero and the Saleen S7 Twin Turbo. If there were different prices listed for the same model, we chose the American price, 'cuz we're all isolationist and crap. Click through for the list.

Bugatti Veyron - $1,192,057

Pagani Zonda Roadster F C12S 7.3, Clubsport - $667,321

SSC Ultimate Aero - $654,500

Leblanc Mirabeau - $645,084

Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo - $555,000

Koenigsegg CCR - $545,568

McMerc - $452,750

Maybach 62 - $385,250

Porsche Carerra GT - $440,000

Maybach 57 S - $367,000

World's Most Expensive Cars, 2006 [Forbes]

Related:
Forbes' Best Cars of '05 [Internal]

The Forbsies throw down their final year-end falconry gauntlet and declare the finest examples of automobilia from the year two-thousand-five. Rather than rank 'em, they've created some rather arbitrary categories to put their favorite vehicles in, calling the Ford GT "The Best Reason to Buy American" and the "All-New But Still The Sub-$40,000 Gold Standard" title for the new BMW 3. Did somebody wanna get out of the office early for Christmas? Make the jump, see the list.

New Car That Most Lived Up To The Hype: BMW M5

Greatest Driver's Car: #1 - Ferrari F430, #2 - Aston Martin DB9

Most Outrageous Car Ever: Bugatti Veyron 16.4

Best Reason To Buy American: Ford GT

Best Way To Blend In With Celebrities: Bentley Continental GT

Best Way To Make Celebrities Jealous: Lamborghini Murci lago

Fastest Car: SSC Ultimate Aero

All-New But Still The Sub-$40,000 Gold Standard: BMW 3 Series

The Ultimate Executive Ride: Maybach 62

Ultimate minivan: Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna (tie)

Ultimate Pickup: Dodge Ram SRT-10

Best All-Around Wagon: Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG

Best-Selling Luxury Car: Lexus RX

Safest Car: Volvo S80

Best Hybrid: Lexus RX Hybrid

The Best Cars 2005

Related:
Forbes' Worst Cars of '05 [Internal]

Dan Lienert breaks down the answer to the question burning in the collective mind of 12 year-old boys across the nation: What are the darn-tootin'est high-speed rides built in the US of A today? Some of the cars that made the list are motoring icons to even the most casual auto enthusiast the Ford GT, Dodge Viper and Corvette Z06, for example. Topping the roster, however, is the banzai-nuts SSC Ultimate Aero, with a Veyron-fingering estimated top speed of 273 MPH. Eep. Other high-speed obscura? The extra-ugly-with-a-side-of-hideous Mullen M-11 V-8 and the GTP-car-with-chromosomal non-disjuncture Evans 387 and 487. Click through for the list.

1. SSC Ultimate Aero

2. Saleen S7 Twin Turbo

3. Evans 387 & 487

4. Ford GT

5. Chevrolet Corvette Z06

6. Dodge Viper SRT-10

7. Mullen M-11 V-8

8. Panoz Esperante GTLM

9. Chrysler 300C SRT8; Dodge Charger SRT8, Magnum SRT8

10. Cadillac CTS-V

The Fastest American Cars [Forbes]

Related:
Brabus-Tuned E V12 Biturbo Sets Record as Fastest Street-Legal Sedan [Internal]